How Has Hollywood Changed Over the Years?

Lets flash back to the 2018 Oscars ceremony for a bit. Jimmy Kimmel was the host and was delivering a pretty funny monologue until he got serious for a moment. He said, “I remember a time when major studios didn’t believe a woman or a minority could open a super-hero movie. And the reason I remember that because it was March of last year.” And I think this is pretty telling of how the movie and television industry has changed over the last couple of years – and not just for the superhero genre.

Brie Larson at the world premiere of Captain Marvel

In the last three years, we have seen the release of some of the greatest movies and TV shows of our times, and the best part is, almost all of them have boasted a diverse range of actors and actresses. Superhero movies broke countless barriers when we saw the release of the first female superhero movie in the form of DC’s Wonder Woman. It went on to receive critical success and was a box office smash. The following year, we saw the release of Marvel’s Black Panther, which broke all cultural barriers and became one of the highest grossing movies of all time. And to top all of that, it became the first ever superhero movie to earn a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. And that’s not all from Marvel either, they just released their first female led superhero movie Captain Marvel, and it’s already a smash hit.

Cast of Crazy Rich Asians, Black Panther and Bohemian Rhapsody

2018 also saw the release of Crazy Rich Asians, the romantic comedy with an all Asian cast that shattered the glass ceiling with its release. Rami Malek became the first Arab-American actor to ever win an Oscar in 2019 for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury. And Yalitza Aparicio became the first ever indigenous woman to ever get a Best Actress nomination. We also saw the release of movies like BlackKklansman, If Beale Street Could Talk, Moonlight, Roma and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. All of which had people of colour taking the forefront and telling stories of people who were often ignored. Just two years ago, Oscars were being criticised for the lack of diversity in their nominations, now it is being hailed for the abundance of diversity on all fronts.

A recent Vanity Fair cover highlighting diversity in Hollywood

And when I say diversity, I don’t just mean skin colour. There is diversity in representation. People of different sexual orientations, race, gender, colour, ethnicities, etc. are all being represented not just in movies, but in television too. With shows like One Day At a Time, Brooklyn Nine Nine and Atlanta, the small screen is filled with a diverse range of stories. All of them are tales of the people that haven’t been represented in years. Today, a little girl watching Captain Marvel or Wonder Woman will finally have a female superhero to look up to. A little black kid somewhere will feel seen as he watches King T’challa in Black Panther. A Latina or a non-binary person will feel represented when they watch One Day At a Time. An Asian person will feel validated as they watch Crazy Rich Asians and so on. We still have a long way to go, but trust me, we’re making progress, and it is genuinely the most beautiful thing ever.